The rapist of a 16-year-old girl is the latest sexual predator to slip through the sieve that is the privately run Southeast Texas Transitional Center.

Thomas Lee Elkins, convicted of aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault in 1991, absconded from the facility, 10950 Old Beaumont Highway, October 5, according to reports.

He's the sixth offender to float away from Southeast in 24 months. Formerly known as the Ben A. Reid Community Correctional Facility, Southeast is run by the Florida-based GEO Group, which, despite its appalling track record in Texas and elsewhere, keeps getting sweet state contracts. But hey, what's the big deal about losing a child rapist or two, right?

Elkins is 6-3, about 200 lbs. and has a "Fu Manchu" mustache, which we're totally sure he hasn't shaved.

We're also sure GEO Group won't have to pay any sort of penalty for this escape. They certainly weren't held accountable when another resident, Anthony Ray Ferrell, took a stroll in October 2010 and wound up gunning down a Good Samaritan who tried to stop Ferrell from stealing a woman's purse at a gas station.

Look, clearly the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has more important things to do -- like monitor employees' Facebook use -- than make sure its contractors, like, keep the public safe and stuff.

Anyone want to take bets on how long it'll be before another degenerate escapes?